Centene Corporation $CNC Holdings Lifted by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

Key Points

• MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its Centene stake by 1,486.5% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 37,838 shares valued at approximately $2.35 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.63% of Centene’s stock.
• Centene General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares for about $3.78 million, reducing his stake by 18.5%. Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $70.05.
• Centene reported quarterly earnings of $2.51 per share, substantially exceeding the $1.09 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 9.9% year over year to $53.58 billion. Shares opened at $64.25, near their 52-week high of $69.63.

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 1,486.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,838 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,453 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Centene were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CNC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,660,422,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 423.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,301,215 shares of the company's stock worth $853,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10,757,914 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $285,713,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Centene in the second quarter valued at about $257,279,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Centene in the 2nd quarter worth about $244,463,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other Centene news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at $16,648,332.60. This trade represents a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Centene from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group set a $79.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating on shares of Centene in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.05.

Centene Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of CNC opened at $64.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.73. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.63 and a 52 week high of $69.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%.The business had revenue of $53.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Centene

Centene Corporation NYSE: CNC is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.

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